Home canned peas are delectable, nothing like factory processed tinned peas from the store at all.
You can raise them to a gourmet level quite easily, just by adding a bit of dried herb.
In this case, we’re adding thyme.
Quantities of peas needed
Numbers are approximate guidelines.
Peas already podded
On average, as a very rough guideline, expect to need about 325 g (11 oz) of podded peas per ½ litre (US pint) jar of canned peas
2 kg (4.5 lb) = 6 x ½ litre (1 US pint) jars canned peas
Peas still in pods
(To be clear, peas must be podded before canning.)
- 2 kg (4 ½ lbs) peas in pods = 1 litre (1 US quart) jar canned peas
- 14 kg (31 ½ lbs) = 7 litre (US quart) jars canned peas
- 9 kg (20 lbs) = 9 x ½ litre (US pint) jars canned peas
The recipe
Jar size choices: Either ½ litre (1 US pint) OR 1 litre (1 US quart)
Processing method: Pressure canning only
Yield: varies
Headspace: 3 cm (1 inch)
Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet)
Processing time: Half-litre or litre (pint or quart), 40 minutes
Canned peas with thyme
Instructions
- If you are starting with peas in pods: Wash pods. Shell peas. Wash peas again.
- Put peas in a large pot, and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil, then let boil 2 minutes.
- Drain, rinse in / under hot boiling water to get some starch off, then drain again.
- Have some washed jars ready: either half-litre (1 US pint) OR 1 litre (1 US quart) jars.
- Just before putting peas in a jar, put in some dried thyme: ¼ teaspoon for the smaller jar, double that for the larger jar.
- Pack hot peas loosely into jars.
- Leave 3 cm (1 inch) headspace.
- Optional: a pinch of salt per jar.
- Top jars up with either the blanching liquid, or fresh boiling water from a kettle, maintaining 3 cm (1 inch) headspace.
- Debubble; adjust headspace.
- Wipe jar rims.
- Put lids on.
- Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet.)
- Processing time: either size jar 40 minutes.
Nutrition
Processing guidelines below are for weighted-gauge pressure canners. See also if applicable: Dial-gauge pressures.
| Jar Size | Time | 0 to 300 m (0 - 1000 feet) pressure | Above 300 m (1000 ft) pressure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ½ litre (1 US pint) | 40 mins | 10 lbs | 15 lb | |
| 1 litre (1 US quart) | 40 mins | 10 lbs | 15 lb |
Reference information
How to pressure can.
When pressure canning, you must adjust the pressure for your altitude.
More information about Salt-Free Canning in general.
Recipe notes
- You could double the thyme and put in ½ teaspoon thyme per half-litre / US pint and 1 teaspoon per litre / US quart, but that might be too much of a good thing. You could try with a jar or two and see what your crowd thinks.
- You might also wish to try another dried herb such as oregano, or a herb mixture such as Herbes de Provence.
- The Blue Book suggests adding both thyme and chervil. The liquorice taste of chervil can be a hard sell at times, so we omitted that. Should you want to try it, the recommendation for half-litre (US pint) jars was ¼ teaspoon chervil and ¼ teaspoon thyme; double that for litre / US quart jars.
- Instead of the salt, you can use a non-bitter, non-clouding salt sub. We have found Herbamare Sodium-Free performs well in that regard.
Recipe source
Herbed peas. In: Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. Daleville, Indiana: Hearthmark LLC. Edition 36. 2013. Page 77.
Nutrition
Serving size: 160 g, drained (about one cup. About one half of a ½ litre / US pint jar, if 325 g went into the jar.)
- 132 calories, 8 mg sodium
- Weight Watchers PointsPlus®: 3 points
* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com
* PointsPlus™ calculated by healthycanning.com. Not endorsed by Weight Watchers® International, Inc, which is the owner of the PointsPlus® registered trademark.
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